Sound Off: Readers offer their visions for Jacksonville in 2025

Jacksonville readers see no reason why this city can't aspire to greatness by 2025.

When asked for their vision of Jacksonville, they didn't hold back.

Here are selected comments from members of the newspaper's Email Interactive Group.

THREE CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

1. Transform our city from "Gateway to Florida" to "Tri-City of the South," uniting by high-speed rail Jacksonville, Atlanta and Savannah. This triadic merger would be productive and exciting for each of the three cities.

2. Develop Jacksonville into the "Boating/Fishing Capital of the South" by having built a Pier 66 (Fort Lauderdale) structure on the Northbank across from Fort Caroline. From this structure, walking/biking colonnades would be built connecting the area to downtown Jacksonville.

3. Jacksonville should become the "Medical Center of the South" by uniting under a flexible umbrella, the Mayo Clinic, Baptist, St. Vincent's and Shands. By 2025, health care will be delivered through such medical consortiums and we may as well plan for them now.

As part of this glorious transformation, it is imperative that we have nothing but the finest public school system and nothing but the finest library system in the South.

Peter McCranie, Jacksonville

UPGRADE CULTURAL OFFERINGS

My vision of Jacksonville in 2025 is a city where libraries are supported and open seven days a week, where there is at least one classical music FM radio station (not NPR, which is mostly talk), where there are a variety of musical events regularly. Teens will not be murdered for playing music too loudly in their cars and people will not be routinely shot or killed by crazies with their guns under the barbaric "stand your ground" law of Florida.

Bill G. Aldridge, Jacksonville

A BIG ATTRACTION

Jacksonville needs an attraction like Six Flags to draw people downtown. To say that it would be tacky, tawdry, undignified, rinky-dink or attract a bad element is simply unrealistic snobbishness. Do it right and it will work.

Alan Pease, Mandarin

THE RIVER IS THE KEY

My main vision for Jacksonville 2025 centers on the river. By then, the river will be the center of a recreational and nature-centered set of facilities and activities. Beautifully landscaped and well-maintained hiking and bike paths will take people along the river. Restaurants, shops and museums of Jacksonville's history will dot the paths. Ample parking will exist within a few blocks, with shuttle transportation to both banks. Launching areas will provide paddle boats and scenic cruises. Jacksonville's national image will center on its river first, with the nearby beaches a close second.

The Rev. Dr. Bill Olewiler,

Fleming Island

A SERIES OF HOPES

I hope the city will have an excellent public transportation system - both rail and bus.

I hope the city will have a new or expanded MOSH, with equal amounts of science and history in their exhibit.

I hope the city will have realized how important education is and will have fully funded their schools, parks and libraries.

I hope the city will have attracted more high-tech, high-paying jobs to Jacksonville - and will have qualified people here to fill the jobs.

I hope the city will have many more green spaces and much less blight.

Jeni Heneghan, Jacksonville

'SILICON BEACH'

We can and do compete with the great cities of the world and we're only getting better by the day. Plus, it is a fantastic place to live. I have been involved in tech companies for 15 years and I have seen them literally transform communities. They pull in revenue and create jobs from a global marketplace and are not dependent on geography to succeed.

There is no reason Jacksonville can't be the Silicon Valley of this century. Maybe we should start now referring to it as "Silicon Beach."

If we can first change our attitude and then put in place an actionable plan that fosters innovation now, we will find that it yields tremendous dividends down the road.

Jalali Hartman, Atlantic Beach

IMPROVE EDUCATION

The city of Jacksonville in 2025 needs to have more skilled labor/manufacturing jobs to increase the number of citizens that are above the poverty line and have disposable income to enjoy things like art, professional sports, live music from top entertainers. We need FSCJ and UNF to be the leaders in identifying trending high-paying fields in both blue- and white-collar arenas, and developing programs to attract students for this. The city can do its part by luring employers of these trending fields into our city. Finally, we need to graduate high school students who are capable of obtaining high-paying jobs.

Paul Zetterower, Jacksonville

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